What Can a Black Woman Teach Me?

Abstract

As you may guess this is not my question as I have had Black women teachers over the years and I am willing to acknowledge that they have much to teach. But the question forces me, and I hope you, to reflect on the contexts in which you may have been open to Black women teachers. Perhaps because I was raised in a Black home, it was not unusual that I had Black women teachers in elementary and high schools. I recall two of my favorite teachers: Miss Campbell in first grade, who made me believe that I was bright and could be anything I dreamed of, and then there was Mrs. Taylor in third grade who allowed me to act the role of teacher in a school skit. The skit had such an effect on me that I have wanted to be a teacher ever since.